In pictures: The Queen’s life in travel

Great Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II was the longest-serving monarch in British history. But beyond that, she distinguished herself by traveling to all four corners of the globe in her role as head of state and a much-loved ambassador for her country.

The queen died at Balmoral Castle on Sept. 8, 2022, after 70 years on the throne.

Here, we look back on Queen Elizabeth’s memory with a selection of some of her most striking photographs from a lifetime of service and travel.

In 1947, future Queen Elizabeth II (then Princess Elizabeth) christened Cunard Line’s Caronia ship. CUNARD LINE

Queen Elizabeth II riding an elephant in Benares during a tour of India, on Jan. 25, 1961. KEYSTONE/GETTY IMAGES

Queen Elizabeth II chatting with businessmen in front of a model of the Concorde airliner at the British Aircraft Corporation works in Filton, Bristol, on Sept. 8, 1966. GEORGE FRESTON/FOX PHOTOS/GETTY IMAGES

Queen Elizabeth II looks on during the christening ceremony for Cunard Line’s Queen Elizabeth 2 ocean liner. She served as godmother of the ship, which is currently docked as a floating hotel in Dubai. CUNARD LINE

Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip fly back from a visit to Yorkshire in a photo taken during the filming of the joint ITV-BBC film documentary The Royal Family, 1969. BETTMANN ARCHIVE/GETTY IMAGES

Queen Elizabeth II meets Maoris in New Zealand in 1977. ANWAR HUSSEIN/GETTY IMAGES

Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip on safari during their state visit to Zambia in 1979. SERGE LEMOINE/GETTY IMAGES

Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip arrive in Kuwait by British Airways Concorde in 1979. TIM GRAHAM PHOTO LIBRARY/GETTY IMAGES

The Queen and Prince Philip coming ashore from the Royal Yacht Britannia to say farewell to the Amir of Kuwait and his ministers during the Gulf Tour in 1979. TIM GRAHAM/GETTY IMAGES

Queen Elizabeth II at Yosemite National Park, California, during a tour by Park Superintendent Robert O. Binnewies, accompanied by Prince Philip. Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh traveled throughout California and up to Seattle, meeting political dignitaries, movie stars and tech giants between Feb. 26 and March 7, 1983. GEORGE ROSE/GETTY IMAGES

Queen Elizabeth II arriving onshore in Antigua and Barbuda in 1985. JOHN SHELLEY COLLECTION/AVALON/GETTY IMAGES

Queen Elizabeth II boarding the Royal Yacht HMY Britannia for a cruise around the Western Isles in 1995. TIM GRAHAM PHOTO LIBRARY/GETTY IMAGES

Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II and The Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Philip, board a plane at the military airport in Celle to fly back to London in 2015 following a three-day visit to Germany. RONNY HARTMANN/AFP

Queen Elizabeth II on the navigational bridge of P&O Cruises’ Britannia cruise ship, which she christened in 2015. P&O CRUISES

Additional reporting by Caroline Tanner.

Featured photo by AFP/Getty Images.